Pontia occidentalis
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Pontia occidentalis, the western white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in Western North America. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glacier National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Banff National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Jasper National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Elk Island National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Grand Teton National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Western White sighting in Jasper National Park on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 33rd most-seen of the 88 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June to September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Western White in Jasper National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to May, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Western White sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 9
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Western White sightings, Jasper National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Glacier National Park (United States, about 20%) and Banff National Park (Canada, about 10%).
Same family: Pieridae
The closest relatives of the Western White that you can see in Jasper National Park (family Pieridae, Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs) are Small White (about 10%), Christina Sulphur (about 10%) and Labrador Sulphur (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Western White is recorded against all the insects logged in Jasper National Park (12 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
